5 Tips to Save Money for a Financially Secure Future

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Financial security is not guaranteed for everyone. What would you do if you got fired today? Would you survive if a recession hit? How will you live without money when you are a senior in retirement? You need to start saving as much as you can while you still have an income.

Here are five tips to help you increase your savings and secure your financial future:

1.      Record Your Expenses

How much money do you spend? Now, how much money do you spend on essential things, and how much do you waste on non-essential expenses? You will be surprised.

Start by recording your weekly or monthly expenses – depending on your financial cycles. Compile your expenses for that month and sum them up. Highlight each expense clearly and don’t leave anything out – especially your credit cards.

2.      Make a Budget

So, how much do you spend per month? More importantly, how much do you make per month? Is it less or more than how much you spend, and by how much? Make a budget to find out.

A budget will tell you more than just the difference between your income and expenses. It will help you organize your finances and identify opportunities for saving more money. It should contain all essential expenses, such as groceries and rent – not everything you spend your money on. It should be an ideal representation of how you should use your money if you were not struggling with impulsive spending.

3.      Set Savings Goals

How much would you like to save per month? What do you want to do when you’re older? Move into an active adult community? Maybe sell up and move across the world? Whatever it is you fancy dreaming about, now’s a good time to get set up for it. You can do it if you are disciplined in your financial usage – and if your savings goals are practical.

The best way to motivate yourself to save more is by setting productive and tangible goals. For example, you can save for that new car that you have always wanted. You can also save for a house where you will raise your family. As such, set your goals and focus on achieving them. Additionally, follow up on your goals by saving enough money to realize them.

4.      Cut Down On Your Spending

So, how much do you spend on non-essential things? How many subscriptions do you pay for but don’t even know it? Do you eat out too much than necessary? Do you need the latest pair of shoes that you just bought?

Cutting down on non-essential expenses is the best way to save more from a fixed income. It also pays to make sacrifices that will free up your financial obligations, such as clearing debts that carry high long-term interests.

5.      Get Out Of Debt

If you have any debts, it’s worth getting out of them as soon as you can. While that could mean paying more for it now, it could mean saving more money in the long term. Thankfully, there are various ways you can go about this. Spend some time researching your options, such as looking up Jefferson Capital Systems reviews, to see what you can do.

It’ll put you in a much better position than you would’ve thought and help you put away more money in the future. You’ll be better off financially in the long-term.

6.      Leverage Savings Accounts & Tools

There are lots of resources that will help you save and secure your money. For example, there are savings accounts that will automatically deduct your desired savings amount when your check comes in. Additionally, there are retirements and pensions accounts that will help you save for your sunset years. Make use of these tools.

Final Thoughts

It feels good knowing that you have some money stashed away for a rainy day – especially when that dreaded day comes. As such, put these tips into practice. Additionally, consider investing your money in safe and lucrative investment options. 

Is Your Child Ready To Take Care Of A Dog?

Have your children started asking you to get them a dog? A puppy is a big responsibility at any age, and it can be hard to know if your children are ready to take care of a dog. If you add a canine companion to the family at the right time, learning to look after a dog can improve a child’s sense of responsibility and caring, and improve their health. Buy a dog before they’re ready, and you’ll soon be stuck doing all the puppy care yourself, with children who have lost interest in the poor thing.

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If you’re going to buy a dog for your family, you need to be confident that you’re all ready for one, and that your children can be responsible enough to take care of the dogs’ needs and that they can interact with it safely. There are some good signs to look out for to help you decide whether the time is right for a furry friend. 

They’ve Put In The Research

Dog ownership isn’t always easy. There’s a lot to learn, and even adults can find raising a puppy very difficult, tiring work. Unfortunately, it’s not all cure puppy cuddles. You need to know that your children are aware of the responsibilities that are involved with owning a dog and aren’t just thinking about how cute puppies are and how fun they are to play with. If they’ve spent some time doing research about dogs, such as finding out what all the things are that the dog will need, this is a good sign that they’re thinking seriously about dog ownership. Have they done a bit of research about different breeds and thought about which might suit your family the best? Do they know where there are local breeders or rescues that you could get the dog from? Have they looked into the best food, beds, toys, and dog bowls? Have they spent time here learning about proper puppy training? You should do all this research yourself too, but taking an interest in it is a good sign that your children know that puppies need a lot of care. 

They Know How To Behave Around Dogs

Do you have friends and family who have dogs already? Take the children round to visit and see how they behave around the dog. Do they know how to safely introduce themselves by offering up their hand to sniff or do they just grab at the dog immediately? Do they leave the dog alone and wait for it to approach them or are they annoying the dog, trying to make it play? 

If you’re going to have a dog in the house, then your children will need to know how to interact with it safely and in a way that is enjoyable for them and the dog. Dogs are animals and can be unpredictable, and even the friendliest, best-trained pooch can react aggressively if it feels threatened, cornered, or hassled by your children or if the kids are not behaving in a safe way around the dog. Make sure they know how to behave with a dog before you bring one home. Assuming your new pet would never snap is a big mistake. 

Are They Responsible?

Depending on the age of your children, they could have different responsibilities to help to care for the puppy, such as feeding, walking and cleaning up after it. You don’t want to get stuck having to do it all by yourself when the kids are bored after a week and have realized that having a puppy isn’t just playing, cuddling, and petting. 

Do your children have chores they are responsible for at home already? If they’re good at getting through their chores without complaining or being nagged and are helpful around the house off their own back, this is a great sign that they will be responsible enough to take over at least part of caring for the dog. Depending on the age of the child, there will be something they can do to help look after the dog, whether it’s filling up their water bowl or taking them out for a walk after school. 

Remember that a dog is a family pet, and no child can completely care for one alone. The whole family needs to be responsible enough to make sure the dog is getting everything it needs and is being properly cared for. 

Are You Willing To Help?

No matter how responsible your children are or how much research they’ve done into the best puppy care, they will need some level of help caring for the dog. Don’t get a pet for a child if you’re not willing to be in charge of its care. Depending on how old your children are, you might need to accompany them on walks, walk the dog in the morning while the kids get ready for school, train the dog, or check the dog has been fed, walked, or groomed. 

Studies should still come first, meaning that if you’ve bought a dog for your older children, you might need to take over walks and other care during exam season. If nothing else, you’ll need to be prepared to cover any vet’s bills and expenses like food, training classes, and toys. 

Before deciding to buy a family dog, do your own research into the care they need, and the sort of dog that would best fit in with your family life. Make sure that you are prepared for the expense and responsibility of owning a dog, as well as the children. They might understand how much care a dog needs, but are you ready and willing to take that on?

Don’t forget to consider the future too. Dogs live quite a long time. If you buy a dog for the children, what will happen when they grow up and go off to college or move out? Are you willing to be left with the dog as the kids fly the nest? 

Great Reasons To Rent This Year

 

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When looking for a place to live the main question we ask ourselves is whether to rent or buy. Buying a house or a property is a big commitment and often the deposit we have to save for this is enormous. But what if you need a place to call your own without the wait? 

Today we are talking about renting and some of the reasons why it is a great choice for first time property owners. If you are looking to call somewhere your own this year, consider renting a property for these reasons. 

It’s faster 

One of the main reasons people will choose to rent instead of buy is for speed and convenience. The contract for renting is much less strenuous than buying and this means the turn around is much quicker than for those who take on a mortgage. You can sign your contract and be in your new property within the month whereas when buying you could be waiting up to a year. For convenience if you want a home quickly, renting is the easiest option for you. 

They are newer 

One great reason to rent a house or an apartment is that the home is usually new and in mint condition. Finding new apartments for rent is much easier than finding a new build house to buy - and a lot of the time your rental property will be kept modern and fresh by the landlord to ensure quality as well as to keep up with regulations. Whereas if you were to buy a house made in the 50’s; the home could be very old fashioned in terms of decor as well as building style. You’ll likely have to fork out a lot of money to update it and this can be a huge investment all on its own. 

You don’t pay for repairs 

If you don’t have a lot of money aside from your rent and bills each month; a rental property could be a safer option than a mortgaged one. The reason for this is that if an appliance breaks or a leak occurs - you don’t have to pay to fix it. The landlord owns the property and it will be their responsibility to pay for damages and unexpected breakages - meaning you’ll never be caught in the lurch having to pay for an emergency repair on your home. 

You can stay as long as you need 

For many people, a rental property is a placeholder property that serves a purpose while you look to settle down and get into a position to buy. If you are young or you simply don’t know what you want yet in life; a rental will give you a place to stay without the worry of being stuck in one place for too long. You can stay in a rental property for as short or long a period as you like, and you always have the option to move out into a different rental when you fancy a change. 

You don’t have to commit 

Buying a house is a massive commitment. It is a contract of 20+ years and you must be ready to settle down in your life before you make this kind of sale. If you think you’ll be moving around in your life for your job or lifestyle or you aren’t ready to settle in one place yet; don’t buy a property. Renting is more flexible and will allow you to carry on living your life the way you want while you have a bed to sleep in when you get home. 

5 Commonly Ignored Tips to Make Your Moving Process Easier

Moving to a new home is quite exciting. However, it may seem like a demanding task, considering all the work that goes into it. Fortunately, there are some strategies that you may apply to make your move smoother and more manageable. Below are a few tips on how to do so:

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1.     Declutter As Much as You Can

One of the best ways for packing and moving to be bearable is by decluttering.  Decluttering before you enter the packing stage will help to lighten your workload. Take time to go around the house figuring out which items you would like to sell, donate, toss or keep.

It is also essential to take measurements of your new home and get rid of any furniture that might not fit or that you may not need.

2.     Send Out Notices Beforehand

There are a lot of entities or individuals who you may need to notify before you move. To make this process easier, create a moving checklist to determine how and when you will accomplish this task. In some situations, you may be required to visit local offices, while some entities allow you to make the notification via phone call.

Making a list beforehand and setting dates to complete these tasks on your calendar will make it less likely to forget anyone.

3.     Invest in Moving Boxes

Picking some boxes from your local grocery might seem like the more convenient and less expensive option. However, you ought to invest in some moving boxes. They, too, are relatively inexpensive, and they come with the advantage of increased durability, which is worth their cost.

Grocery boxes can expose your valuables to bug infestation and moisture. Moreover, they are not built to serve this purpose, and they can easily fall apart and lead to breakages as you move.

4.     Decide if You Want To Hire Professional Movers or Not

If you do not have easy access to friends and family to help you move, or when moving to another state,  hire interstate removalists' services. Although their services come at an extra cost, they can significantly reduce the amount of work and stress associated with moving.

5.     Pack a Little at a Time

The best way to ensure that packing doesn't become overly stressful and exhausting is breaking down your process into steps. If you procrastinate and try to pack everything a right or two before moving, you might get exhausted and overwhelmed with stress.

You may opt to tackle a room on a set period each day, during which you pack items into boxes. For easier unpacking, pack sets and pairs together, making sure each box is large enough to fit a set of items.

The process of moving to a new home can be stressful and time-consuming, especially if you do not have the right strategy in place. However, the above moving tips should help to steer your move in the right direction.

3 Tips for Picking the Best Family Car

 

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While almost every family today gets to own a car, not many find joy in the riding experience. Although plentiful, cars come with a host of variations, some not ideally suited for families.

Knowing how and what to look for in a good family car will help you beat the odds and pick the best possible vehicle.

Use these tips to find a car that best suits your family's lifestyle for better on and off-road adventures.

Prioritize Safety

When on the road, your primary duty as a parent is to always ensure your young ones are safe. With no shortage of drunk, careless, or distracted drivers on the roads, picking a car that caters for your children's security should be top of your priority.

Going for a car with airbags, seatbelts, and sometimes a black spot detector is the best way to keep all parties safe. Vehicles with a monitoring system also offer you the chance to monitor kids at the back while still maintaining a clear eye on the road.

Protect your family from harm by routinely checking on your car and paying for top quality service like Platinum Wheel Repairs.

Choose Convenience

Children can be a handful, and as such, you require the best tools to better facilitate your journey at all times. While no car is entirely perfect, a suitable family car should at least have:

Cabin Watch System

Placed strategically for the driver to see, there should be a screen showing those at the back. It is great for monitoring kids while still driving.

Cabin Talk System

Adjacent to the driver need be a communication device that aims to ease the conversation flow between those at the back and the one driving.

Automatic Seats

Kids tend to argue over petty issues, and this often results in fights. Prevent such happenings by ensuring the car has automatic sliding seats that can come closer together or stay further apart during such conflicts.

Always go for cars with other unique features like split screens and automatic door detection systems for a smoother family riding experience.

Check on Space

Whether you plan on taking your family for a road trip or just the occasional drive around town, having enough room in your car is essential.

Choose a vehicle that can accommodate your family size while still having space left for guests. A car with at least six seats, for example, is enough to keep everyone comfortable by ensuring there is enough leg space left. Vehicles with adjustable booster seats next to the driver often prove valuable for families who plan to expand.

Prioritize enough room for the luggage as this is where most of the family staff goes. Have enough space for travelling backs and or shopping.

Final Thoughts

To any family, a good car is a prized asset. With a reliable vehicle, you can take your kids to school, go for road trips and make sweet memories like teaching your child how to drive. When in the market for a good car, you can never go wrong by prioritizing safety, choosing convenience, and checking on the space.

How To Be Rich Without Actually Having A Fortune In The Bank

Getting rich is a massive challenge. Not only do you have to have good ideas, but you also need to work hard for a very long time.

Virtually nobody makes serious money via get-rich-quick schemes. It often takes a decade or more of relentless perseverance. 

But what if you want to use your time for something else and don’t want to give up the best years of your life to make money? Can you be rich without actually having a fortune in the bank? 

Well, maybe. 

Start Investing Early

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The power of investing is quite remarkable. You can put away a small amount of money while you are young and then simply wait for it to grow over the subsequent years. 

If you wait a few decades, you can wind up with a massive pile of cash at the end of it - way more than you ever expected you could make. Small investments of a few thousand in your early twenties can turn into millions by your late sixties when you come to retire. 

Focus On Your Health

Being wealthy in terms of health isn’t ever guaranteed in life. You could get sick at any time. However, you can invest in your body and make it less likely that you’ll feel under the weather or acquire a serious illness. And that can improve your quality of life far more than money in the bank ever could. 

Most people don’t realise the extent to which they can build health “wealth.” Choosing the right lifestyle strategies can add years to your life. And that gives you more time to enjoy it and accumulate interest on your investments. 

Grab Deals Online

Many of the world’s wealthiest people live extremely frugal lives. Warren Buffett is a good example. 

But why do they do this? 

As Rich Dad, Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki puts it, it’s not about what you earn - it’s about what you keep. You can have a very modest income and still build tremendous savings throughout your life. 

The trick here is to cut down on your spending in the present. Look for saving opportunities, like Aliexpress cashback, online. Find coupons, discount codes and bulk buy offers. And, if you know that there’s going to be a sale, wait for it to launch before you start handing over your hard-earned cash. 

Cut Back On Your Big Expenses

Three things cut into your budget more than anything else in life: food, housing costs and transportation. 

Think about how much money you spend on your mortgage or when dining out. It’s often a big chunk of your monthly budget. 

And what does it really add to your quality of life? Not a great deal compared to building wealth, right? 

Being rich often involves making conscious sacrifices that allow you to invest more of your money and increase. 

Ask yourself whether you really need to live in a four-bedroom home if there are only two of you? 

Be honest about whether you need a car or whether you could cycle or take the train? 

Advice For Staying Happy & Well As A Single Parent

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Being a single parent is a lot of work and can be a tough role to take on. You may not only be parenting by yourself but also working a full-time job.

While it may not be easy, it can be done and is possible when you have the right approach and mindset. The following advice will help you to stay happy and well as a single parent who’s trying to ensure a good life for your kids. Remind yourself of all the positives in your life and all you’ve been able to achieve so far parenting by yourself to keep you motivated to continue on strong.

Get Out of the House

As a single parent, you may not have a lot of free time or time for yourself. However, it’s imperative that if you want to stay happy and well that you practice self-care and do what brings you joy. Get out of the house once in a while to enjoy nature or go on a date with someone new. If you find someone you like and it ends up being a good night then you may want to look into getting the contraception pill to avoid any unwanted consequences.

Accept Help

It’s up to you to admit when you’re doing and taking on too much and need help from your support system. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for it when you feel like you could use a break and extra hand. Enlist the help from friends, family, and neighbors and let them know how you could use their assistance. It may also be worth getting into a carpool rotation with your kids so you’re not always the one having to do all the driving to and from school and other activities and sports.

Spend Quality Time with Your Kids

You can stay happy and well as a single parent by enjoying quality time with your kids. Be grateful that they’re in your life and you have loved ones with who you can spend time with when you have the availability. Mix it up by participating in a variety of activities together. Be fully present by staying off your phone and engaging in meaningful conversation with your kids when you’re with them.

Stay True to Yourself

It’s also essential that you stay true to yourself and not let single parenting change you. Remember how strong you are when you’re struggling and lean on others for support. Do your best to co-parent but don’t blame yourself for the mistakes you’ve made in the past. Let each day be a chance to start fresh and over and for you to focus on all that’s going well for you and your kids. Use your new role as a learning experience and go easy on yourself when you do have setbacks.

Conclusion

Stay happy and well as a single parent by using this advice to help you along in your journey. Make being a good parent a priority and give yourself a break once in a while so you can continue to do your best. Be kind to yourself and give yourself some grace, even when you have bad days. 

Hacks To Upgrade Your Home With Limited Spending

When it comes to household upgrades, the truth is that it can be exceedingly expensive to give your home an upgrade. There’s just so many different costs to consider. Household upgrades are expensive, there’s no getting away from that fact, which is why it’s easy to be put off of upgrading your home. 

However, a home upgrade does not have to be expensive, it’s just a case of thinking about the best ways to go about it. If you are able to get creative with how you look after your home, you can make overhauling it and breathing new life into the space far simpler and easier to achieve. You just need a little inspiration, that’s all. 

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To help you to breathe new life into your home, below are a few tips and suggestions that are ideal for low budget home makeovers. Read on for everything that you need to know. 

Start with cleaning 

One of the best hacks for upgrading and overhauling a home on a budget is to start with cleaning. Your home might be ‘day-to-day clean’ but that doesn’t mean it’s deeply clean, and that’s where there’s a big difference. By taking the time to deep clean every inch of your home, from your tile grout and your walls to your carpets and your sofa, you can make a big difference to how your home looks and feels. It’s a good idea to try and take a DIY approach when it comes to your home’s cleaning needs, such as using Massey's Chem-Dry for cleaning your carpets for instance. It’s little hacks like this that will help you to significantly cut costs. 

Smarten up your paint work 

Have you noticed that some of the paintwork in your home is looking a little messy? Maybe it’s started to bubble in places? Perhaps there are areas of paint that are peeling? Or, it might just be that there are a few stains that won’t come off with a good scrub. Whatever the reason for your paintwork looking messy, it’s worth taking the time to smarten it up with a lick of paint. If you want to change the colour scheme of a room, consider adding an accent wall to allow you to do that. Adding an accent wall is a simple and easy way to change the look and feel of a room without overspending. 

Invest in accessories 

When it comes to changing the look and feel of your home, it starts with the basics. Let’s say that you feel that your living room color scheme is old and outdated and your sofa lacks style, you need to find a way to use accessories to change the look and feel of the space. For instance, take a grey sofa, add some pastel-hued throws and cute, quirky cushions and it can look like a brand new couch. That’s how easy it is - accessories can make a huge difference to the look of your home, it’s just a case of knowing how to utilize them, that’s all. 

4 Early Decisions That Make Businesses Successful

The whole process of starting a business can be a difficult one to get right. But if you are concerned about trying to make a success of it, there are a lot of key things that you can pay attention to. In a sense, what you do in the first few months is one of the most important things in trying to make your business more successful later on. In this post, we are going to look at four of the early decisions you need to make if you want your business to go on and be as successful as possible.

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The Right Industry At The Right Time

One of the things you need to think about first up is what industry you are going to be operating within. This will be fairly straightforward if you have a specific product or service in mind already, but if you don’t then you are going to need to think about which industry is likely to work for you. Essentially, this is all about research, finding out which industries are doing well at any one time and working to fall in line with your findings. At the moment, the automotive industry is looking particularly good, as well as food retail.

Competitors Or Customers?

Should you spend your time focusing on competitors, or your customers? This can be a challenging thing to work out, but if you are keen to find success you do need to weigh these options up as best as you can. If you spend all your time focusing on your competitors, that could mean that the customers feel left out. On the other hand, if you fail to look to your competitors at all, you are almost certain to miss a trick. It’s often best to strike a balance between the two.

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Adaptable Campaigns And Products

Of course, early on you are going to be thinking a lot about your products, and the marketing campaigns to go alongside those products. It will generally serve you well if these products and their campaigns are easily adaptable, as you never quite know what’s around the corner that your business might need to respond to. Do whatever you can to keep them as open as possible, and you should find that it makes for a much more lucrative way of doing business later on.

Outsourcing Vs. In-House

There is no right or wrong when it comes to outsourcing or whether to do things in-house, but you do need to decide early on which you are going to do. If you fail to do this, it could mean that you end up following a botched, half-and-half approach, and that is often the worst approach of all. As long as you think about it in advance, however, you should be able to do much more outsourcing when you want to, and yet do whatever you still need to do in-house.

These simple decisions are going to make a profound difference to your business, so they are important to think about.

Cool Kitchen Interiors To Inspire

If you have ventured into 2021 with a focus on renovating your kitchen and making it fit for purpose, you need to consider the latest trends. While you aren’t one for following fashions and succumbing to whatever is currently gracing the covers of design magazines, you don’t want to choose a style that you will soon tire of. Investing in your kitchen is expensive, but it is the hub of your home so it is worth it. While you can give your living room a lick of paint every couple of years, a kitchen is only ever coiffed every decade or so. Take a look at these cool kitchen interior ideas that can inspire your project.

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Units

If your cabinetry is in great condition and the integrity of the frames are sound, you might be able to get away with just replacing your door fronts. The frames are the same whatever kitchen style you choose so overhauling the doors and handles can uplift your entire room. You can swap your shaker style country kitchen unit doors for something more high gloss and modern. Or perhaps you fancy a new worktop for your kitchen. That expensive granite quartz worktop might be a step too far so go for a manmade engineered laminate instead. If you are looking to save cash, head to a local DIY showroom and check out their ex-display kitchens. You might not have as much choice of style, but you could pick up a bargain.

Pipework

Your kitchen isn’t all about the aesthetics. You also need to consider how your kitchen works. On occasion, you might want to reconfigure the whole layout of your kitchen. If you want your sink in another spot or you want to add some new pipework for your dishwasher ambitions, you need to have the number of a 24/7 plumber to hand. Check out local reviews and use word of mouth recommendations to find the right tradesperson for you. As you reconfigure your room, you are making it more conducive to your lifestyle. 

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Kitchen Diner

More people than ever are choosing to create larger and more open plan spaces within their homes to design a new heart of their renovated home. Your humble abode may be in need of a focal point. Consider knocking down the wall between your dining room and kitchen to create a more enjoyable space. Here, you can watch the kids do their homework while you cook up a gastronomic feast. You might want to utilize this room as a place where you can chat with friends over coffee. Or you could find yourself enjoying a date night with your partner in your new open plan kitchen diner. By utilizing the space within your pad a little more effectively, you will feel like you are living in a better and bigger home.

Kitchens can be expensive and they take a great deal of effort and time to renovate. If you are eager to overhaul your kitchen and make it fit for twenty first century living, take heed of these cool inspirational kitchen ideas.